THE MUJADDIDIS: Family of Light

By Jamaluddin B. Hoffman (interview by Dilshad Fakroddin)

The story of the Mujaddidi family is a long one, a proud one and one which is written in gold in the history of their native Afghanistan.

 

The name Mujaddidi is derived from the term mujaddid, which means “Reviver of the Religion.” The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said Allah (swt) would send such a mujaddid every 100 years to renew Islam and to call the believers back to the true practice of their faith. The Mujaddidis are descendants of Hazrat Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi, known throughout the world as Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani - the Reviver of Islam of the Second Millennium.

 

“Hazrat Mujaddidi did not take that title for himself,” explained Abu Bakr Mujaddidi, a descendent of the great shaykh. “At that time, all the ulama, all the shaykhs, came together and said, ‘This is the person that Hazrat Muhammad (saw) was talking about.’”

 

Hazrat Mujaddidi lived in Afghanistan about 450 years ago. He came to renew the faith and revive Shari’ah in what is now India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. He also established, the Mujaddidiyya branch of the Naqshbandi tariqa.

 

“The Mujaddidiyya sisilla began with him and it continues with us today,” said Abu Bakr. “It is one of the only sisillas that has gone from the father to the son for many generations.”

 

Abu Bakr Mujaddidi and Ahmad Amin Mujaddidi are two brothers currently living in Fremont, California. The story of the Mujaddidis is the story of their family, a story these two men are happy to tell.

 

BEGINNING OF A DYNASTY

 

Hazrat Mujaddidi began preaching during the reign of the Mogul ruler Shah Jahangir.

 

“What Shah Jahangir was doing, he was taking from Sikhism, taking from Hinduism, taking from Islam, taking from all the religions what he thought was good, and producing his own,” said Abu Bakr. “He was a Muslim, but he brought a religion that took from Sikhism and Islam and Hinduism. He mixed it together into one religion. He said that it's lawful for a Muslim to marry a Hindu. He introduced many innovations into Islam at that time.”

 

Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani challenged these un-Islamic policies and practices. He sent his representatives to the four corners of the Islamic world to call the people back to the Shari’ah, back to the sunnah of the Prophet (saw), back to the Sirat al-Mustaqim – the straight path that leads to Allah (swt). Shah Jahangir noticed these activities and ordered him to stop. When Hazrat Mujaddidi refused, the king had him arrested and thrown in jail.

 

“He was a king, everyone was giving him respect. Everyone was putting their heads down for the king, putting them on his foot,” said Ahmad Amin. “He told Hazrat Mujaddidi to put his head on his foot. Hazrat Mujaddidi said, ‘This head goes down only for Allah (swt), not for a king or anyone else.’ ”

 

Hazrat Mujaddidi remained in jail for many years.

 

“It has been said that Hazrat Mujaddidi said before he was arrested, ‘I have completed the sunnah of every prophet, the ways and practices of every prophet, except Prophet Yusuf (as). Yusuf (as) was in prison. I have completed all the sunnah except that one sunnah that is still left, and I have to complete it.’ And then he was imprisoned, and he completed the final sunnah,” said Abu Bakr.

 

It was while in jail that one of Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani most amazing miracles occurred. Following Shah Jahangir orders, the shah’s soldiers chained the shaykh and put him in a strong cell. But, when the time for prayer came, the soldiers saw the wall of the jail open. As they watched in amazement, Hazrat Mujaddidi emerged from the jail, made his ablutions, performed his prayers and returned to his cell.

 

“When this mujada happened, Shah Jahangir came and sat beside him. He said, ‘Forgive me.’ And he became a murid of the Naqshbandi Tariqa,” said Ahmad Amin. “There are a lot of stories like that in the history about Hazrat Mujaddidi. There's a book that’s called Maktubat. It has been published from the time of Hazrat Mujaddidi until now.”

 

Many believers heard Hazrat Mujaddidi’s call and joined the Naqshbandi Tariqa. He became a great master of the order, helping it spread from Afghanistan into India, the Middle East and China. Ahmad Amin said the prevalence of the Naqshbandi Tariqa today in such places as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is part of the legacy of this great teacher.

 

In his time, Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani was bombarded with the same ignorant criticisms that are leveled at Sufis today.

 

“Today, many people are saying that tasawwuf is against Islam, that is bid'a,” said Abu Bakr. It was the same 450 years ago, he said.

 

“The subject had come up all across the Islamic world, that this tariqa and this silsilla, and this way of life is not acceptable to Shari’ah,” said Abu Bakr. “He was the one that provided the evidence to the people and to the world and to history that Shari’ah sees the hijal of the person, they see the way the person is, that tariqa brought spirituality into the heart of mankind so it could be able to perform the Shari’ah. Hazrat Mujaddidi brought the proof that this is not a separate religion, that this is not something that is bid’a or is innovation. This is something that belongs to Shari’ah.”

 

The descendants of Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani vowed to follow in the footsteps of their great ancestor.

 

“Their job was to work for Islam, for Shari'ah, and to ask the people to become good Muslims,” said Abu Bakr. “And their job was to ask the rulers – wherever the Mujaddidis were living – to rule like a Muslim king, like a Muslim emir.”

 

One of these descendants was Shaykh Fazel Omar Mujaddidi. Born at the end of the nineteenth century of the common era, Fazel Omar Mujaddidi carried this proud tradition of the Mujaddidis well into the twentieth.

 

A SAINT FOR THE 20TH CENTURY

 

“He was known as the ‘Nurul Mashaykh’ in both Afghanistan and India,” said Abu Bakr. “He has followers who are still alive. He still has khalifas and successors alive today. He has millions of followers.”

 

As a young man, Fazel Omar Mujaddidi studied with the great Afghan scholars of his time. After becoming the master of Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya – a position transmitted to him from his brother – Shaykh Fazel Omar Mujaddidi did much to revive Islam in Afghanistan. He built many Islamic schools, including the nation’s largest – Nur-al-Madaris, in the province of Ghazni. That school has remained open for six decades and more than 2,000 students graduate from it each year with degrees in Islamic law and other Islamic sciences.

 

Like most leaders of tasawwuf, Fazel Omar Mujaddidi was not just a spiritual leader. Both he and his brother led their followers and their nation to victory against the armies of England and prevented the British Empire from ever laying claim to Afghanistan.

 

The last of three wars between Afghanistan and the British began in 1919. It was sparked, said Abu Bakr, by the assassination of the country’s ruler, King Hamidullah. He was succeeded by his son, King Amanullah, who was destined to become one of Afghanistan’s most beloved rulers – with the support of the Mujaddidi shaykhs.

 

“In 1919, when King Hamidullah was assassinated, King Amanullah became the successor. Fazel Omar Mujaddidi said, ‘The only way I will give you allegiance is if you announce jihad against the English. Formal jihad, against the English, right now,’” said Abu Bakr. “That was the time that the jihad began, and the English failed.”

 

According to Ahmad Amin, the two brothers helped rally the people to drive the British from their homeland.

 

“They brought all the people of Afghanistan together against the English empire,” he said.

 

Following the extraordinary victory of the Afghans over the British, King Amanullah presented the two brothers with the Mashaneh Elnar, the nation’s highest medal. But he did not stop there. He gave them the most honored of titles, dubbing Shaykh Fazel Omar Mujaddidi “Nurul Mashayikh,” or “Light of the Shaykhs.”

 

Fazel Omar Mujaddidi continued to lead the tariqa until he passed from this life in the 1960s. During his lifetime, this Sufi master was credited with many miracles, but some of the most amazing occurred shortly after his death.

 

As Fazel Omar Mujaddidi’s body was being prepared for burial, many of his disciples gathered outside the bathhouse in the hope of catching some of the water that was being used in the ritual bathing of his corpse. But no water came. When those performing the final ablutions emerged, some of this group rushed into the building to see if the drain had become clogged. There was no water to be found. Abu Bakr said his great-grandfather was protecting these disciples from falling into error.

 

“He did not allow that to happen,” he explained. “He protected them from that sin.”

 

After the shaykh’s body had been bathed, it was placed in a bier and taken to his family’s house. As the members of his household gathered to pay their respects to Fazel Omar Mujaddidi, someone noticed an amazing thing – the shaykh’s heart was still beating. Relatives began to scream that he was still alive, but a closer inspection revealed that this was not the case. It was his son that solved the mystery.

 

“His heart was still praising Allah (swt),” said Abu Bakr. “His heart was so used to saying ‘Allah, Allah’ because of his meditation and dhikr. It will keep beating until the end of time. It won’t stop.”

 

During the commotion created by this discovery, Fazel Omar Mujaddidi’s wife unconsciously allowed her veil to slip, revealing her hair. The shaykh’s eyes opened suddenly.

 

“He looked straight at her!” said Abu Bakr. “This was seen by people who are alive today.”

 

Realizing what had occurred, the woman covered herself and Fazel Omar Mujaddidi slowly closed his eyes once more.

 

Meanwhile, a great multitude had gathered outside the house, eager to catch a final glimpse of the great saint. Among them were dozens of people whom no one had seen before – handsome people who seemed to shine with some inner light. Many who were there assert that these were no mortal men, but angels in human guise come to pay their respects to the great shaykh. The king, Zahir Shah, also came to bid farewell to the shaykh. As the royal guard plunged into the crowd, his soldiers shouted, “Make way for the king!”

 

“Some people – maybe these people – yelled out and said, ‘Our king has just passed away. We have no other king,” said Abu Bakr. “The king said to his guards, ‘Let them be. Today, I will be among the people.’”

 

ONCE MORE BEHIND BARS

 

Following the death of Fazel Omar Mujaddidi , the leadership of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya passed to his son, Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi –grandfather of the Mujaddidi brothers. Abu Bakr said it was a mantle he was reluctant to put on.

 

“He was just in his twenties,” said Abu Bakr Mujaddidi. “He said, ‘I am not able to fill this position.’”

 

The shaykh asked that one of his father’s khalifas step up and accept responsibility for the order. None did.

 

“The ulema accepted my grandfather as the new leader of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi order,” said Abu Bakr. “The people were not accepting anybody else.”

 

Perhaps this was because of another one of Fazel Omar Mujaddidi’s miracles.

 

Shortly before his death, after he had fallen ill, the shaykh called his son to his room. The two men remained inside for a longtime, and many later said they saw a blinding light emerging from the chamber. Later, when Shaykh Fazel Omar Mujaddidi was asked about this strange event later, he said, “Whatever I have, I have given to my son.”

 

Even as a child, Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi had a special connection with his pious ancestor, Hazrat Mujaddid Alf ath-Thani. When he was six, Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi traveled to India with his father to visit the tomb of the great saint. During the journey, Shaykh Fazel Omar Mujaddidi fell ill, and a servant took the young child to pay his respects to Hazrat Mujaddidi. Deeply distressed by his father's condition, the young boy knelt before the locked grave in prayer.  As had been the wont of Imam Shafi`i when in Baghdad to visit the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa, greet him, and then ask Allah for the fulfillment of his need through his means, young Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi made fervent prayer to his Lord, asking Allah (swt) to cure his father for the sake of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) and for the sake of the great saint buried there. Suddenly, the lock broke and fell into the boy’s outstretched hands. As Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi backed away from grave, the tomb door began to open. Through a dazzling light, both he and the servant could discern the figure of an old man, dressed in white, standing in the midst of the tomb. The pair ran back to their lodging to tell Fazel Omar Mujaddidi what had occurred, only to find the shaykh well on his way to recovery.

 

“Fazel Omar Mujaddidi said (the figure in the vision) was Hazrat Mujaddidi,” Abu Bakr related, a sign that Allah (swt) had accepted the boy’s prayer.

 

When he inherited the leadership of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya from his father, Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi established himself at the Khaniqa – a walled religious compound outside Kabul that had originally been established by Sultan Shahabuddin Ali. The Khaniqa served as a school for the shaykh’s disciples and a home for him and his growing family. It was a place of quiet refuge from an outside world that was increasingly troubled by political turmoil.

 

The peace of that refuge was shattered in 1979 when a Soviet tank blasted open the gate and led a troop of communist soldiers into the Khaniqa. The soldiers poured into the sanctuary, searching for Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi and his family. They found him with his wife at their residence.

 

“They barged into his house. Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi calmly rose up and said, ‘You are welcome.’ So did my grandmother,” Abu Bakr recounted. “They said, ‘We are not here to visit you! We are here to capture you, to take you away!”

 

And they did. Supported by Soviet troops, the Afghan communists arrested the shaykh, his wife and their children, as well as most of the disciples that were present in the Khaniqa. Abu Bakr was only 10 months old at the time. His father, the shaykh’s son, lived at the Khaniqa with his wife. They were both taken as well, while Abu Bakr was left in his crib, alone.

 

“The whole Khaniqa was empty. They barricaded the whole thing,” he said. “A servant rescued me.”

 

Ultimately, the infant Abu Bakr was smuggled to a relative who had evaded capture. As for the rest of his family, they had disappeared into the limbo the new communist regime had created for its enemies – among which were the scholars and teachers of Islam. When his mother was released several months later, the family learned that the men had been separated from the women and children, who had been imprisoned inside Afghanistan. The whereabouts of the men remained unknown. The family’s only consolation was the fact that none of their names had appeared on the lists of prisoners executed by the state that were published with sickening regularity during the first years of the new regime.

 

The persecution by the communists and their Soviet masters did not stop the Mujaddidi family from staying true to the course set by Hazrat Mujaddidi. Shaykh Sibghatullah Mujaddidi, the uncle of Ahmad Amin and Abu Bakr, had escaped the roundup and helped organize the Islamic freedom fighters that would become known as the mujahaddin. He went on to become the first president of the Islamic Republic following the victory over the communists in 1992.

 

However, even the triumph of the Islamic revolution did little to shine light into the dark abyss into which Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi and some 40 other members of the Mujaddidi family had disappeared.

 

All that the family was able to learn was that they had been transported back to the U.S.S.R. sometime before the liberation of Kabul. In the years that have followed, the Mujaddidi family has learned that Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi and their other relatives are alive, but remain imprisoned somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Attempts to win their freedom by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have had little success.

 

“There is no reason that we understand,” said Abu Bakr. “But there’s a lot of evidence and hope that they are still alive.”

 

Six years ago, the family received a letter in their grandfather’s handwriting that said he and their father were alive and well. It is the only communication they have had from Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi since his arrest.

 

Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi, now 79, remains the official head of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya order. Both Ahmad Amin and Abu Bakr hope to find their grandfather, their father and all of their relatives who remain in captivity – to see them freed and returned to a nation that has, perhaps, more need than ever of the Mujaddidis. They hope that, even as Hazrat Mujaddidi emerged from the dungeons of Shah Jahangir, so to will Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Mujaddidi emerge from the belly of the beast that was the U.S.S.R. Both brothers hope that, as more people hear the story their grandfather, the chances of seeing him will increase. And both brothers hope that, as more people hear the stories of Hazrat Mujaddidi and all their other pious ancestors, the impact of their teachings will grow as well.

 

“These are the stories that enable us – as followers of Sufism, as followers of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’a – to be able to keep the blessings of these shaykhs alive,” said Abu Bakr. “They are the signs of their character.”